This invention relates to an apparatus for mass transferring between phases different from each other, and more particularly to an apparatus for mass transferring between phases different from each other, such as a gas-liquid contact apparatus or a liquid-liquid contact apparatus, which has porous contact walls, between a gaseous phase and a liquid phase or between liquids insoluble with each other, i.e. between phases different from each other. Furthermore, this invention relates to a separation apparatus having porous walls, which is used for separating an emulsive content from emulsion such as oil and water, concentrating a solution or the like, extracting a solvent content in liquid, absorbing gas and the like.
There has heretofore been a practice wherein an inner tube provided on a tubular wall thereof with micro-pores and an outer tube constitute a double wall tube, liquid is introduced into the inner tube and gas is introduced to the outside of the inner tube, and part of gas is dissolved into the liquid in the inner tube through micro-pores formed in the tubular wall, to thereby obtain liquid dissolved therein with the gas. In the above-described apparatus using the porous inner tube, in order to provide and fix the porous tubular member or members into the outer tube, the porous tubular member or members are fixed to fixing flanges by use of an adhesive or the like.
However, in the above-described apparatus, an inner and an outer fluidic chambers of the double wall tube are mounted in sealed states, respectively, and the inner and outer tubular members should be easily replaceable. Hence, according to the aforesaid conventional mounting and fixing method, it is disadvantageous in that it is impossible to remove, replace the porous tubular member or members, and so forth, and further, impossible to replace the porous tubular member or members with new ones due to clogging and remount the porous tubular member or members after reproduction such as acid washing, heating and the like. Furthermore, it is disadvantageous in that stresses cannot be absorbed for fixing the adhesive, there is a possibility of damaged porous tubular member or members due to a difference in thermal expansion (between the porous tubular member or members and the fixing flanges) when heating fluid is caused to flow, and similarly, there is a possibility of damaged porous tubular member or members due to fluidic pressure or vibrations of the fixing flanges.
This invention contemplates to obviate the disadvantages in fixing of the porous tubular member or members as seen in the aforesaid conventional apparatus.